The Weekly, 12.07.2020

I’m writing this as I listen to some holiday music, after a really wonderful day enjoying the sunny afternoon. I baked cookies, I binged Virgin River on Netflix (do it), and I ate some really delicious tacos. All in all, it was a great day.

The weekends go so quickly right now, even without social plans, and honestly, I think the weeks are going quickly, too. I was reminded this weekend in therapy that while right now everything can feel really crappy, there are also positives to what we have gained this year, too. I think we can all agree that there is no need for New Year’s resolutions this year (really, though, were there ever?) as this was the year you had the time at home to try and do a lot. So I am hoping we can have some New Year’s reflections, and try to consider what you have gained from this year.

Personally, I think I have grown a lot. I wouldn’t say this was the most amazing year of my life, but I think professionally and emotionally, I have pushed myself, hard. And there were some really low lows, but ultimately, I am grateful for the lack of pressure to be somewhere or see people when you don’t always want to. I have loved weekend walks with Chris, finding new spots to eat in our neighborhood. I finally took my mental health seriously, instead of saying I did. And I’ve learned so many new things at work, including how much I love the element of human interaction with young people that I miss so much right now. And I think we can all appreciate our families, more now than ever, especially when preparing for another holiday without them. Call me sentimental, or maybe it’s the glimmer of hope following the election with a vaccine in our future, but I think 2020 hasn’t been all bad.

But enough of that. I’m not sure where all of that feeling came from today, but maybe it’s just because I enjoyed my weekend so thoroughly, that I forgot what it feels like to see the glass half full. Onto other things…

A few weeks back, I told you that I had ordered a skincare set from Versed, pretty much exclusively for the headband it came with. But wow, am I impressed with two of the serums that it came with. Their clarifying serum and their brightening serum are such a wonderful combination, and I am so pleasantly surprised by these two super affordable serums that I have been using together in the morning. They give you a very hydrated glow without any tackiness, and this may be one of my favorite vitamin C serums to date. This has my stamp of approval, and the headband in this gift set certainly doesn’t hurt.

I thought I might start highlighting some of products that I run out of here to share what I have loved and have just felt was mediocre in terms of beauty products. This week, I hit the end on this staple vitamin E oil from Amazon that I will definitely be repurchasing, as it just packs the most necessary and healing dose of hydration when layered on top of moisturizer at night. I also finished a tub of Drunk Elephant cleansing balm, and while it is not my favorite simply for the scent, it definitely gets the job done at a great price point. I’m diving back into my favorite Elemis cleansing balm next, which has been on super sale on QVC – grab it while you can. I also finished off this budget-friendly, drug-store daily moisturizer with SPF that is super hydrating season to season. I would definitely repurchase this. If you’re just looking for a great, easy daytime moisturizer that includes some sun protection, start here. And I am just about to run out of my Honey Grail facial oil from Farmacy, and I can’t risk being without, so I already did a repurchase of that. More on that here.

There is a Sephora sale going on until Wednesday. It’s a tiered sale, so you get a certain dollar amount off when you hit $75, either $10, $15, or $25. You know my medicine cabinet is like a Sephora (as my sister says), so I scored the greatest discount. I had just finished listening to a holiday gift guide episode of from Gloss Angeles (a great beauty podcast – this episode is a must-listen) when the sale hit, so I had to pick up one of their recommendations – this CBD lip balm from Kosas – they say that they CBD gives it such a great layer of hydration, so I am particularly excited to try this out. I also grabbed this holiday set from Kosas, because their mascara and this lip oil have both been on my wishlist for a while. And of course, I had to to hit that $75, so I grabbed this lip set from Rare beauty that includes a gorgeous holiday red lip that Krista Roberston has been sporting for the last two weeks – gorgeous. And lastly, I had this Tower 28 dewey highlighter without any shimmer in my cart for a while to get that kind of wet sheened makeup look, and that was that. If you’re wanting to get yourself or someone else a gift with this sale, check out my post on all of my Sephora sale holiday faves here, or my holy grail picks here.

I’ve got a great post coming to you this week on keeping my body from getting dry during the winter, which brought me down an exfoliation rabbit hole. I finally pulled the trigger on some items from Necessaire after hearing every blogger on Instagram rave about them. I’ve always found the price point a bit tough to swallow for…soap. But alas, I picked up the exfoliator and the body wash in eucalyptus, as well as their hand cream to have beside my bed. I detest gloves, so my hands are always a little cracked and dry. After attempting to eat outdoors with no gloves today, I quickly found this pair from J. Crew with matching hat (sadly, sold out), because that’s just not realistic with our new outdoor realities.

I did decide to pick up a little skincare Christmas gift to me this week with the Black Friday sales going strong still on QVC. I have had the NuFace on my list for a long long time, and after reading a ton of positive reviews, I decided to grab it on super sale this week. I also got my GloPro from QVC, and I just think their bundles are always great to grab on sale, especially because you can put them on EasyPay if you want to be more budget-friendly. I went with the NuFace mini because I have really small hands, and I honestly can’t imagine myself being able to hold the regular version in one hand. I can’t wait to review this device for you guys!

The only other things I grabbed during the lingering sales this week are a few pieces from the Skims collection, which I am just really growing to love. I read Jessica from An Indigo Day’s review of some of her favorite wireless bras for a bigger chest size, and I had to grab this Fits Everybody bra scoop-neck bra to try, as I hate wired bras so very much. I already love the Skims bandeau strapless bra (I am size large in both), so I figured it’s a slim chance I hate this one. I also grabbed two pairs of these high-rise ribbed undies, too, because, I have an obsession with buying underwear and will not apologize for it.

And of course I am going to end off on a familiar note, here, which is…candles! After a very failed attempt to order candles from Target – don’t do it people, just trust me after four shattered candles – I saw BrooklynBlonde burning this intriguing wood-wick candle from Yankee Candle. All a girl wants is it to smell like Christmas in her apartment without a real tree…is that so hard? Fingers crossed this one works out.

I hope everyone stays pretty busy, and takes a minute to enjoy these moments leading up to the holidays, starting this weekend for some, to enjoy their favorite traditions, even if they look a little different this year.

Thank you for shopping my blog post! For transparency, some of the links on this post may be affiliated, which means I may make a small commission off of any of the purchases made using these links. I only share what I love and would buy myself here on Pretty Busy Brooklyn. Thanks for your support!